Mystery
by Dr. F. M. Obsesser
Summary: Nadie ponders the bond she shares with Ellis, and Ellis sure isn't making it easier to work this mystery out. Ellis/Nadie


Alright, so I'm scanning through the Noir stuff thinking "I want some comedy," and I suddenly realized I could read some El Cazador de la Bruja stuff! Going to the link, I click and see a disappointing six entries… which made me very sad. So I figured, "Hell, if there's no more to read, I'll write some!"

And therefore, this was born. Note that I have NO idea where this came from: it actually was originally going to have a weird Ellis possessed thing, but I killed that idea because it lowered the fluff count... and besides, an utterly confused Nadie is soooo much fun.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nadie or Ellis: they both belong to Bee Train.

* * *

It wasn't as though she didn't feel anything. There definitely was some connection between the two of them, some bond of sorts. Something held them together, as a sort of glue. Maybe they were just inseparable, like two oppositely charged magnets, unable to be away from each other even if they wanted to: they just ended up being pulled together. Or maybe they just stayed together out of obligation, Nadie to protect Ellis and Ellis to… something.

Well, whatever that "bond" was, it certainly was managing to confuse the hell out of Nadie.

It fact, she found herself questioning the reason for being with Ellis a lot lately, more out of curiosity than anything. Not that she minded spending time with Ellis; it just was that Nadie couldn't understand her reason to continue protecting Ellis. There was no way she was going to ever stop protecting Ellis, that she knew to be a fact, but she was still confused as to why.

She understood that at the beginning she had done it because of that contract. After all, she wouldn't have known Ellis if not for that contract. Nevertheless, under contract she was, and therefore, Nadie protected Ellis with her life. There was no option, no in-between, and no discussion: it was a fact. Nadie had existed to protect Ellis, and Ellis was just a person that "needed" protection.

But it didn't stay that way. Things got odd between them. Ellis was no longer a "person to protect" but had become a friend, and Nadie no longer was just a protector, she was a friend as well. Suddenly the obligation was gone, and it was simply a desire to be around the other person, to make sure they were together.

Somehow, even that friendship, however pure and harmless it was, didn't last, for it was pit against the next most powerful force: the obligations. Nadie had been forced to choose, and under that pressure, she chose Ellis.

Which is where she suddenly got terribly confused.

Did she forsake everything for friendship? Or was it….

Nadie sighed and leaned further back on her chair in the diner. This was one mystery she couldn't figure out. All she knew was that she was going to keep Ellis safe and happy. That's all that mattered.

"What are you thinking about?"

Nadie looked up at the voice to find Ellis, the center of the mystery. She answered the question, "Us."

Ellis titled her head to the side. "Us?"

"Yeah," Nadie said, half-sighing, "Us."

Still confused, Ellis asked, moving so that she was standing in front of Ellis, "What about us are you thinking about?"

Not sure how to phrase the answer to that touchy question, Nadie sat up straight so that she didn't have to wonder about balancing on two legs of the chair as well as answering tough and touchy questions. "Well," she began, "I dunno… more like what we are than anything. Like, why we're here."

Ellis looked around the dinky diner. "I thought we were here for money."

Nadie laughed. "No… not _here_ here, but more like 'in this situation' here." Noticing Ellis just looked more confused, she tried to explain further, "I was just wondering how we got into this situation, why we did. I mean, why we are where we are now."

Understanding what Nadie was talking about but not wanting to discuss it, Ellis feigned ignorance, "Because our truck broke down?"

That just made Nadie laugh more. Ellis kept her face confused while smiling on the inside, knowing that this "laughing Nadie" was much better than the "deep thoughts Nadie": it suited her better.

Nadie threw herself back on her chair. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's best not to worry about things like that. Why don't you go ahead and go to the motel while I close up? I'll be there in about ten minutes."

Ellis saluted and was about to say "yes sir" when an idea came to mind. She leaned down and kissed Nadie on the cheek.

Nadie, completely thrown aback, blushed bright red and began muttering incoherent speech, "You ki-! Ma... bu… you, no… wh…wha?"

Ellis simply smiled and continued, "Yes, sir," and walked out of the diner.

Still shocked, Nadie watched Ellis as she walked away. What in the world had just happened? More importantly… _why_?

Actually, what was more surprising to Nadie was that she didn't mind in the slightest and actually found herself smiling over the fact. She was _glad_ that Ellis kissed her. In fact, she suddenly had an uncontrollable, previously unknown desire to go run after her and kiss her right now. No, not to just kiss her… to hold her, to touch her, to stroke her, to eat h-

Where the hell did that come from?!

Nadie sighed as she tried to figure out what to do next and to shake the blush off her face (both very unsuccessful attempts). She was going to have to face Ellis in, what? , ten minutes, so she needed to be able to talk to her normally without blushing like crazy….

Damn, this was going to be hard.

Her head was already spinning, questioning what _she_ felt and what she was in this equation, never mind that Ellis, one person who always managed to confuse her, was there as well. Now she had to think about what her reaction was to this, and more importantly, what she has to do next. While at the same time, she needed to survive and protect Ellis from gun shots from god knows who. Was a little break too much to ask?

Apparently so.

Still, she wondered, why would Ellis do it in the first place…?

Great. Just what she needed: another mystery to play with her head.

Or was it the same one…?


End file.
